


A Nightly Walk

by SolarPFlare



Category: Plants vs Zombies
Genre: Gen, Night Terrors, Nighttime, Suspense, Tension, Urban, city
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22156738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolarPFlare/pseuds/SolarPFlare
Summary: Constructor Larry Buildermann has had a rough day, so he decides to go out for a nightly walk in the city. However, as he's a zombie, there are plants about that he must avoid!Will Larry have a safe night out or will his relaxing stroll take a turn for the worse?To give you an idea on who Larry is: https://pvzcc.wikia.com/wiki/Constructor_LarryPlants vs. Zombies (c) Popcap, EAAll of the OCs that appear in this story belong to meNOTE: Reposted entirely from Wattpad
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. A Tiresome Day

Larry was finishing the construction for Zomboss' newest creation, the Zombotinator 15000, a machine that will churn out any kind of Zombot for any theme, usually depending on where Zomboss has decided to go in the time stream. He was just about to screw in just two more bolts when he heard a heavy crashing boom on the other side of the building-sized garage that he was in. Startled by the commotion, Larry ran over to the source of the noise. 

When he got there, he saw Lenny, an imp who's taller than most imps and is also an employee of Zomboss along with Larry, standing with George, a Gargantuar who's slightly shorter than the others. They both were covered in exploded powder and debris, with shattered glass scattered about. They both see Larry, with terror in their eyes and proceed to point at each other and blame one another for the freak accident. Larry, however, wasn't in the mood to deal with their shenanigans. 

"George! Lenny! Both of you two better have an excellent explanation as to what just happened! I was near completion of the new invention, 'til Y'all did something!" 

"Oh, uh.... well, you see, Boss... George-" 

"Hey! The boss said both of us, Lenny!" George irritatingly said before looking back at Larry. "You see, We both were trying to make some sort of chemical that makes light, so we wouldn't have to use electricity for the lights." 

Larry facepalmed. "George, you do know you can use the fireflies, right?" 

"Uh, boss, there ain't no fiery flies anymore. The season's been changed, so they all flew off!" 

Larry let what George said sink in. He went over to the entrance of the shed and turned on the automatic garage door. He stopped the machine barely halfway, ducked out from underneath the door and felt the nature outside. It was a very nice cold breeze. Larry was awestruck by the coolth of the weather. Larry was so caught up, that he didn't realize that Zomboss had shown up to check up on the progress and had been irately calling Larry. 

"LARRY BUILDERMANN! IF YOU DON'T ANSWER ME IN THE NEXT 5 SECONDS, **YOU ARE FIRED**!"

"Doh! Who in the- Zomboss! When did you get here?!" 

"I've been here for a little while, now, about time you answered. I was going to ask you about your current progress on the machine. However, _George_ here was descriptive in detail on how things were going. I didn't expect you or your team to have gotten this far in the project already, so that's good news for you. Keep your hard work and no lollygagging, and you should be fine." With that, Zomboss left the building and went to his chambers for the night. 

Larry thought over what Zomboss said. After some reflection, Larry decided to get back to screwing in those last two screws. Larry got worried that they might've rolled off somewhere, but fortunately, they were still near the machine. Larry looked at his watch. The time was 7:05 pm in the evening. 

*a short amount of time later*

Larry had finished the machine, completed the inspection paperwork and planned on doing a test run with it tomorrow. Larry looked back at his watch which read that the time was now 7:40 pm, much sooner than Larry had anticipated. With that, Larry and his crew did a toast with some hot cocoa. Afterward, the crew left and Larry closed the garage shed doors and made sure that they were sturdily locked. Once that was done, Larry smiled that he was now done for the day and took the opportunity to go for a walk and enjoy the weather. 

Larry went back to his complex to put up his important items, like the garage keys, and then started his trek through a nearby city. The sky was a dark shade for some reason, but Larry didn't mind it as he walked to the city.


	2. A certain night

Larry had entered the city from the west side, where the traffic jams usually aren't bad, most likely because it's near the countryside where Larry lived near. And, the area is considered the "rural" part of the city, due to the meager amount of people living there.

To Larry, the west side is the "perfect side", not too many people, not too little. He had been to the city a few times, always entering through the west side. When he enters, he usually is greeted with the peacefully empty streets, but sometimes, there are zombies there who greet him. Today was no different, at least, that's what Larry had believed.

When he entered through the west side this time, he noticed that the streets were packed with cars or debris, as if something big had happened. The cars were usually never there. The only time Larry could remember there ever being so much a single car parked in the street was if a friend or relative was visiting. Today, not only was there an excess of cars, the cars were placed in rather strange positions: all of the cars were either tilted on their sides or they were upside down. The debris on the sidewalks, however, was completely normal.

Despite this, Larry continued on. He maneuvered through the lopsided vehicles and carefully stepped around any major cracks or potholes in the concrete sidewalks. After successfully passing through the aftermath of some sort of mayhem, Larry found that some of the buildings were slightly damaged. However, the damages weren't enough for Larry to be prompted to get out of there. He kept going. 


	3. A troublesome encounter

The streets where Larry walked has oddly become free of cars and debris. This is the less "rural" part of the city. Larry has walked far enough into the city, that he's nearing the city capital square, the place he always experiences deja vu moments that he could never understand. In the square, there is a popular cinema that many city-dwellers and tourists go to for their daily viewings of any movies. Next to that cinema, is a candy shop that was famous for its confectionery that induced nostalgic memories of the 1970s for the older patrons, while giving a sugary experience that made them feel out of the world.

Larry becomes so caught up in the cherished thoughts, that he forgot about the inexplicable scene that gave him a sense of uneasiness. Larry once more presses on, oblivious to the signs of trouble that are there: the entrance being in a state of disorder and anarchy and the looming black sky above him. Meanwhile, something is watching Larry from afar, behind some trashcans.

After a long while, Larry looks at his watch. The clock reads 8:35 pm, a time which is estimated to be nighttime. Upon reading it, Larry finally glances at the sky and acknowledges the dark shades that float over him. However, Larry still held on to his happiness within and instead saw the sky as some sort of mysterious beauty of nature. But, that happiness will come to a screeching halt.

While looking up at the sky and still walking along the street, Larry didn't see a vine laying on the ground waiting for him. As soon as he got close enough, the vine shot up, wrapped itself around his leg and pulled him down. Larry is frightened by this and looked to see the source of the vine. The vine led to a shadowy dead-end corridor. Larry looked on in fear, then the source of the vine trudged out of the corner.

Larry is petrified by what he sees. It is a Chomper, but it doesn't seem to be any kind of regular chomper. Larry had read about the many kinds of Chompers out there, some being colored like rainbows, others not being any of that stuff. This particular Chomper looked far larger than any others that were usually on the lawn battlefield. No, this Chomper was really big, almost as big as- wait, no! It couldn't be! Larry kept looking at the carnivorous plant approaching him, looking for anything that might show that it is the plant that he is thinking it could be. 

Larry kept scrutinizing the plant beast approaching him, with no sign of it being that plant he had feared it would be. "(No medallion? What kind of Chomper is this?!") Larry thinks to himself, as the Chomper gets closer to him, sharp teeth becoming more bared, mouth drooling with hunger and gaping until it was wide enough for Larry to fit inside. At that sight, Larry's pupils shrink to the size of dots, with his mouth still open in horror. He suddenly screams, and out of some sort of primitive zombie instinct, he grabbed the vine that held him hostage and chomps down on it. 

The Chomper jolts and roars out of pain and rage. It recoils and releases Larry from the vine, allowing him to escape. Larry takes the opportunity and sprints away from the plant beast, towards his home. 


	4. An unfortunate realization

Larry dashes as fast as his zombie legs could carry him. Amazingly, Larry is able to continue to endure the tensions and other pains in his legs, until he finally reaches the sheltered comfort of his home. However, Larry remembered he had locked his house to prevent anybody from getting ideas. 

Larry reached into his pocket... but he didn't feel anything. Suddenly feeling tensed, Larry immediately checked his other pocket, and to his horror, they weren't there either. _The Machine Shed?! Could they be there? Wait, NO! I brought them with me! Where could they be?!!_ Larry had thought fearfully to himself. Larry literally checked around the entire perimeter of his house, before he came to the horrible conclusion: he must've dropped them, somewhere in the city, the same city where... the Chomper nearly killed him. 

The prospect of having to go back into the dangerous city made Larry shiver so severely, his own skeleton could fall apart like in those old Black&White cartoons. Larry looked over to where he had exited the city. He waited where he was and listened for the beast's growls. 

No noise is heard. Larry then carefully took a few big steps towards the direction of the city, making sure that no sounds made outside would attract the Chomper. There were many instances where Larry nearly stepped on a twig or any other debris lying around that would make a sound if stepped on. Larry continued to make careful movements until he was at the edge of the city again. He scanned the surroundings. The cars were still there, still upturned. A good sign. _That means the Chomper hasn't been to this area, strangely enough,_ Larry thought to himself. He listened for the beast once more, and there still was no sound. With some regained confidence, Larry stepped back into the city. 


	5. An Unexpected Encounter

Larry took a few steps at a time, attempting to hear any signs of that plant. Larry was shocked to see that the place was practically untouched, apart from that mysterious event that overturned those cars and messed up the sidewalks. 

Once Larry got near the cinema, he stopped for a while and began to wonder if this was where his keys were dropped. He scrutinized the current area he was at while keeping a check on the Chomper. The thought of the Chomper made Larry suddenly have a flashback. 

Larry was walking, with his hand in his pocket, the same pocket, _where he had his house keys_. It was when the Chomper had wrapped its vine around Larry and tripped him did the keys fall out. Larry got back to reality and quickly turned to where the Chomper was. To his happiness, the keys were right where he suspected they would be. 

Larry happily walked over to where his keys were, picked them up and happily started to walk back to his house, when he suddenly heard something. Larry immediately put his keys into his coat pocket and buttoned it up. _Just in case_ , Larry thought to himself, while he looked around for the source of the noise. It wasn't that same noise that the Chomper had made, which Larry was both relieved and worried. The Chomper may be big and scary, but Larry figured he can outrun it, and he has no idea what other plant monsters could be after him, specifically the one that was the source of the new noise that Larry had heard. 

Larry decided to walk the other way, to test if the noise would be heard again, and to make sure that nothing follows him home. Larry strolled over to the deeper part of the city that he wasn't too familiar with, unfortunately for Larry. However, Larry started to see some things that he recognized. For example, there was a small playground for kids and preteens in between two building lots, with a few caterpiller spring rockers that Larry recalled playing with when he was younger. Out of curiosity and nostalgia, Larry stepped into the playground, suddenly feeling the mushy ground. 

_The squishy foam ground! Oh man, such good times I had in youth!_ Larry had thought to himself. Once Larry got near the middle of the playground, he noticed that there was _another_ entrance on the other side of the playground. Larry took a few steps towards the other exit and was surprised to see that the other side of the city was very reminiscent of his younger teenhood days. _Oh dang! I didn't realize I've been here before! Wow, it still looks the same as it did before!_ Larry excitedly thought to himself. 

Larry was once again, too busy in his nostalgic thoughts, that something was sneaking up on him again. Just before Larry could turn around... 

**_BZZZT!_ **

Larry jumped at the buzzing noise. He looked around for where the noise came from. When he looked back, he saw nothing there, but then, the noise came back, and Larry looked down to see a telephone on wheels, with a toy face on it. Confused, Larry picked it up and answered the mysterious call.

"Hello?"

" **Hello, Larry..."**

Larry was disturbed. "How do you know my name?"

" **I have seen you around these places many times before, a decade ago, during the Summer and Winter seasons, to be exact. My owner always saw you play here, at this very park you're standing in now, always enjoying life, carefree..."**

 **"** Huh? I don't remember seeing you _or_ your owner, for that matter. But, since you seem to know me pretty well, I'll take your word for it. What brings you here anyway? Why did you decide to come over and talk to me?"

" **Oh, right... you need to leave this city! It's becoming too dangerous to be in it! Many dangerous plants are starting to run about, and they're hungry for zombies!"**

Hearing the word, _hungry_ , made Larry's eyes dilate and shrink. He suddenly has a flashback to when he nearly got eaten by that giant Chomper... THE GIANT CHOMPER!! Where could it have gone? Larry looked around fearfully, confusing the phone bot. 

" **What's wrong?** " inquired the phone bot. "Shh! I think I know what you're talking about... have you by any chance, seen a giant Chomper anywhere near here?" Larry quietly asked. 

" **... YOU SAW IT TOO?!** " the phone bot quietly exclaimed to Larry, who proceeded to ask the phone bot, "You too, huh? Alright, so now that we both know that we have seen it and I am now fully aware of the threats that are looming over this city, let's skedaddle out of here before that chomping beast comes back." Larry whispered to the phone bot, who proceeded to " _hang up_ ". Larry was baffled by that until he felt something breathing down his head and neck, and he saw a giant shadow behind him. 

Larry slowly turned around to face the beast. The Chomper looked exactly like he had feared it would look: it was very furious, and its teeth were far sharper than before. Larry stood there, petrified until the phone suddenly rang and Larry picked up the call. 

The phone bot uttered just one word, " **Run.** " 


	6. Another problem arises

Larry began sprinting again, carrying the phone, towards the other entrance/exit of the playground, with the Chomper hot on his heels. Larry turned left to get himself farther away from his home, and as an attempt to lose the beast. The beast continued chasing. 

Larry was getting close to yet _another_ sharp turn, this time on the right, but surprisingly, the chomper seemed to have stopped chasing him. Larry saw this from the corner of his eye, cheered internally and continued on with making that sharp turn. The phone seemed to have closed its eyes out of terror because it didn't seem to be giving Larry any help with the directions. 

Larry made another right at the next corner and did it again at the one coming after. And... 

Larry found himself right back where he was, which surprisingly, the Chomper was still there, but it wasn't facing him. Larry quickly sneaks away. He immediately gets the idea to climb up the buildings to get a vantage point and quickly get back home. He found some spots to climb up, and soon after, he found himself at a high point. Larry suddenly noticed a sudden bright orange light appear on the ground, emanating from behind him. _Morning already?! Aw man, I didn't even get_ to fully enjoy the stroll! Larry thought angrily to himself until he looked at his watch, which read 12:35 am, far from sunrise.

Larry was completely baffled by this, and he decided to take a look at the source of the light. To his horror...

It was a Citron, a fully upgraded one, and it had its laser beams aimed straight at Larry. "OH COME ON!"

Just then, the Chomper came from behind Larry, surrounding him. Larry clutched his grip on the phone, which surprisingly hadn't said a thing nor did it fall out of Larry's grip. Just as he thought of it, the phone rang. Larry put his hand out to tell the plants threatening him to wait, so he can continue with the call.

Larry picked up the phone, and he was met with a hushed, but strangely happy voice.

" **Larry, I have one thing that I want for you to do..."**

Larry listened intently, believing the phone has an idea that may get him out of this predicament.

" **I want you to run to the edge of the building...** **and jump.** "


	7. An Unexpected Surprise

Larry couldn't believe what the phone had said. " **_And jump_ **." The words echoed in his mind, as time slowed up to a near-screeching halt.

Why is the phone making him do that? Larry may be dead, but jumping will just make it easier for the plants to dispose of him.

Larry was immediately pulled from his deep thought, by the phone yelling, with the speaker still by Larry's ear, which made it hurt. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad.

" **JUMP ALREADY YOU FOOL!** " Larry wasn't willing to just randomly jump off unless it would help him to some degree. When Larry got back to his senses, he turned to see the plants already right behind him. 

Larry yelped. When he was backing away, he lost his footing and fell off the building. " **Not what I meant, but that'll do.** " The phone quipped, almost as if suddenly unsympathetic to what Larry is going through. Larry wasn't going to have any of that. 

"The tarnations you mean by ' _THAT'LL_ _DO!_ ' you phonetic freak!" Larry yelled into the phone. The phone responded with an unusually calm tone. " **You'll see immediately...** " 

Larry was confused by what the phone had said. Just before he and the phone collided with the ground, there was a sudden flash. Larry found himself, along with the phone, in some sort of bubble. Or, in a more proper term, a shield in the form of a bubble ball. 

"How in the- HOLY SUNFLOWERS!" Larry caught sight of what the phone had become. The phone had become some sort of small flying, light grey cubical robot, with a computer-like monitor for its face, that has a smile on it. 

" _Like my_ **REAL** _form, Larry?_ "The "Phone" Robot had said in an ecstatic somewhat high-pitched robotic tone to a completely dumbfounded Larry. Larry just sat there, staring at what was in front of him. 

The Bot asks if he's alright, before seeing the two angry plants above, lunging for them. The Bot promptly moves the ball away, and it ended up going in the direction Larry never dared to do: _towards his home_. 


	8. To Larry's Horror

The Bot was pushing the bubble ball with surprisingly fast speed. The Chomper stopped giving chase, but the Citron transformed into a ball and continued. While the Bot was still pushing, Larry turned around to see the Citron Ball catching up. His eyes widened and screamed the news at the Phone Bot, who proceeded to push the ball even faster, this time, with Larry helping. Larry had forgotten about avoiding going back in the direction of his home. 

The Citron Ball picked up speed and was gradually gaining up with the bubble ball. Both Larry and Phone Bot see this and simultaneously hatch an idea involving the oncoming cars. They both get close to one of the cars and proceed to bounce off of it like a pinball. They roll towards the next car with a slightly faster speed. After colliding with that car, the ball's velocity is accelerating with each non-destructive collision. 

When it gains enough velocity, Phone Bot aims the ball towards one last car, which makes the bubble ball accelerate towards the Citron Ball with such momentum, that when both balls collide, despite the mass of the bubble ball being lesser, had much more force, successfully knocking the Citron Ball far away. While being knocked back, the Citron Ball also slammed into the Chomper, also blasting it far away. 

The Phone Bot managed to make the bubble ball stop spinning. It decided to let Larry rest, but would still continue to roll the ball. 

"You know, Phone Bot, those plants were a doozy. As a matter of fact, that Chomper was so HUGE for a regular chomper! Am I right, Phone Bot? Phone Bot...?" Larry looked over at Phone Bot, who gave him a look of apprehensiveness. "What's bothering ya, Phone Bot?" 

"About that Chomper... Do you know why there was a Citron there?" 

"No... All I know was that before you spoke up, I thought I was laser toast!" 

"Well, you see, that Citron... I saw something glowing gold. I think I saw a medallion on it..." 

"..." Larry froze at the words,  _ glowing gold  _ and  _ medallion _ . It couldn't be... "Did it have the L.E.A.F. symbol on it?!" 

"... It appears so... Larry, are you ok? You look pale..." The Phone Bot looked at Larry, who was indeed pale. 

There was a tense moment of silence before being broken by an eruption of fear from Larry after the Bot tapped him on the shoulder. 

"OH MY ZOMBIE! IT WAS THE CITRON OF L.E.A.F.!!! But, where is the medallion for that Chomper?!" Larry erupted. 

"I think that was an underling...?"

"OH GOOD MOONLIGHT, THEY'RE RECRUITING AND TRAINING MO' NOW?!! GOOD HEAVENS, GOD HELP- MMPHH!" Larry was muffled by the Phone Bot, which had suddenly gained robotic arms, in some attempt to hush and quell Larry's burst. 

"SHHHHH! We are almost home, Larry... it'll be okay..." Assured the Phone Bot. 


	9. Home At Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Citron and the Chompzilla underling taken care of, Larry can finally head home

After assuring Larry, the Phone Bot proceeded to continue rolling the bubble ball towards his home. _It really must've been a_ long _night for you, Larry, my dear friend_ , thought the Phone Bot. It extended one of its robotic arms to pat Larry out of comfort. 

Larry was lying down, feeling very sleepy. He had started to close his eyes when the Phone Bot had patted him. He looks to see Phone Bot, sadly smiling at him. Larry gives an awkward smile in return. Larry looks off to see that they are almost out of the city. _Thank the heavens for that!_ thought Larry as he finally got to see the end of this nightmare. 

Once they rolled out of the city, they are met with a forest. Larry looked completely worried, something that the Phone Bot noticed. "Oh my, do you feel lost, Larry?" Phone Bot asks in a calm tone. "Y-yeah... I think we are far off from my house. I always get there from the other exit, the one that I entered the playground from." Larry responds, giving the necessary details. "Oh! Is that so? Well, worry not, my friend! I'll get you there in a jiffy!" the Bot assures. 

The Bot immediately deflates the bubble ball and puts it inside him. Larry was surprised and confused by what he had seen, and annoyed because it looked like he was going to have to walk the rest of the way there. However, Phone Bot turned to him and said, "I will carry you to your home!" 

Before Larry could utter a word, the Phone Bot immediately grabs Larry with its arms and began carrying him from there. Larry looks at his watch. The time read, 1:50 am. Fortunately, the distance wasn't too far, nor did it take too long, as they were already there. 

Before Larry went inside, he checked his coat pocket for his keys. Fortunately, they were still there. He looked back at Phone Bot with a grateful smile and offered it to stay with him for the night. The Phone Bot happily accepts. Soon, Larry was in his bed, in his pajamas, fast asleep. The Phone Bot did one last perimeter check, before powering down into rest mode. 

Before it did, it whispered to him, "Good Night, Larry."


	10. Epilogue

_*****10 hours after Larry had escaped certain doom and had made a new friend***** _

Larry was sprawled asleep in bed, far off in dreamland. However, he was a little too far off, as he was unable to hear his phone go off. The Phone Bot who also was asleep - via setting itself to "sleep mode"- had awoken to the noise. It decided to transfer the call to a voice mail. Afterward, The Phone Bot decided to leave the room and go make breakfast. Ten minutes later, Larry awakens from his peaceful long slumber to see his wall clock read 12:05 pm, five past noon. Larry immediately remembers that he had set his alarm to wake up for demonstrating the machine. 

He looks at his phone, and to his horror, there were two notifications: the first one was his alarm being set to snooze. The second one, which Larry looked at in fear, was a voicemail. Larry gulped and opened his voicemail, to be met with this message:

**_**BLAAH!! Larry, this is Zomboss speaking. I had dropped by the garage to see if your contraption had worked, but_ you _weren't on the premises! Fortunately, one of your coworkers had filled in and demonstrated_ for you _. The machine was a splendid success! I am looking forward to bringing back my old Zombot contraptions that had been destroyed by those wretched plants! Zomboss signing out, BLEEHEHE!!**_ **

Larry was mixed with a variety of emotions, ranging from awestruck, to fear, to relief. As Larry put his phone up, Phone Bot came back in the room to check upon him. "Morning, Larry. What would you like for breakfast? I can cook for you some Barney's Breakfast Beef Burritos. You have four packets of it in the freezer kept in for a long time!" 

"Hey, Phone Bot?" Phone Bot looks with a quizzical smile. "How long have I been asleep for?" Phone Bot happily responded, "Oh! You have been asleep for approximately 10 hours." "Right... Phone Bot? Were you aware that I had received a voicemail?" Phone Bot still smiling responded casually, "Oh, yes. But, I saw that you were too tired, and I didn't want to disturb your slumber!" 

Larry looked at Phone Bot, then to his phone, then back at Phone Bot. "Uh, I haven't told you this, have I?" Larry nervously asked. "Told me what?" Phone Bot questioned. "I had an important thing to attend to today..." Larry slowly told Phone Bot. "?! Oh no, really?" "Yeah... fortunately, a friend of mine took over." "What was the important thing?" Phone Bot queried. "I was going to showcase a machine that I built, kind of like a test run, and see if it works right or not," Larry described to Phone Bot. 

Phone Bot looked at Larry, before shamefully closing its eyes. "I'm sorry, Larry." 

"Oh, don't be! To be honest, everything that happened the night before, that came absolutely out of nowhere! I should've just stayed and enjoyed the weather here..." 

Phone Bot looks back at Larry, still feeling a little shame. 

"But, I probably wouldn't have met a great robot pal like you, Phone Bot," Larry comforted Phone Bot, whose digital face lit up. "Now, about those burritos, make two please!" Larry answered Phone Bot's previous question with glee. Phone Bot happily obliged, and they both went into the kitchen. 

_Everything is fine now_ , Larry thought to himself. _Of course, those plants will come back, but when they do, we'll be ready!_


End file.
